Boulevard Brewing Co. on Tuesday installed three new fermentation tanks that give the beer-maker the flexibility to increase capacity by 15 percent to 20 percent.

Each 600-barrel fermentation tank can hold 1,200 kegs worth of beer.

Kansas City-based Boulevard now has two brewhouses with the capacity to brew much more than they currently are, but the company found that it was short on the fermentation capacity needed to create the final product, spokeswoman Julie Weeks said.

The capacity also will give Boulevard the opportunity to continue to try different recipes and styles of beer, she said.

The company introduced a year-round beer called Boulevard Pilsner during the summer. At the time, the company said it wanted to keep growing, but increasing the brewery’s fermenting capacity was the main concern.

Boulevard had 2008 revenue of $25.3 million, up from $21.6 million the prior year.

Craft beers have been continuing to grow amid the recession, and overall beer sales have stalled, according to the Brewers Association. In the first half of 2009, the craft brewing industry grew 5 percent in volume and 9 percent in dollars, while overall U.S. beer sales fell 1.3 percent.